[FIN] Winter Wonderland

[Blood_Goddess]

Great, his fiancee, they had practically just told this girl that she was probably never going to see the man she was supposed to be marrying again.
Didn't he just feel like the biggest a*****e on the planet now.

Reaching up to run a hand over the shaved half of his head, pulling the beanie off as he did and letting out a heavy sigh, the man got back to his feet.  

[Suudonym]

Luke's posture relaxed - slumped, even. It was disheartening. He could probably run, but how far could he get? And even if he got away, what of his pokemon? He couldn't afford to lose his resolve now, and he would continue to defend himself as violently as he needed to, but it was difficult to keep heart when the future was so unclear.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Another half hour went by, this time with a little more activity from the Rockets.
Even though there was always one of the grunts sitting by to watch Luke, the others would be moving around the van, talking to Jerome in quiet undertones of helping to sort some things within the vehicle.

Jerome was left with the tough choice, they still had a prisoner, and it was what to do with him that was on the forefront of his mind. The other Rockets seemed to be under the impression that Luke would be coming back with them, as a hostage or something.

As the Mechanic showed up however, and started getting to work on the vehicle, eventually getting it started the Rockets started packing up what they had brought out and got ready to get back on the road, this was when JErome approached Luke, and tossed something toward him.

His belt, along with his pokemon landed in the snow a few feet from Luke.
"Ya want an ol' banger's pro tip?"  

[Suudonym]

Luke sat quietly so long as he went unbothered, though the more active the Rockets were, the more unease he felt. He, too, had every expectation that he would be brought with them if he remained compliant. He didn't want to sacrifice his pokemon - he badly didn't want to sacrifice his pokemon - but he wasn't sure how he could prevent his continued captivity without prioritizing his survival over theirs. He hated it, he hated the worry and the growing feeling of dread, he hated knowing that everything could have gone completely differently if he'd just been a little better prepared.

When he was approached, it was with an expression in his eyes near panic that was abruptly turned to one of total surprise as the pokeballs containing his team were tossed just out of his immediate reach. Speechless, and with a healthy amount of doubt, he looked up to the speaking man.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome took the silence and surprise as a positive answer.
"D'no f'ya were lookin fer trouble r not. way a guy fights like that," He gesture to Luke" That look in yer eyes, I know ya seen s**t in yer life."
Jerome crossed his arms, not taking his eyes off of the red head, crouching down so he could lower his tone.

"You get tired of it, ya get tired f'hurtin' people, and if ya ain't watchin' ya get trapped in it.
You go, ya take yer girl and ya get outta this, outta here, cause ya still can. y'dig?"

With a stony look on his face, that lasted couple of seconds, he gave a curt nod of his head and pushed himself back to his feet, ignoring the incredulous stares from the grunts.

"Sir- He's going to tell-" Ryan started but was cut off when Jerome pointed him to the van.
"Ain't our job, S'just get movin' we're late."  

[Suudonym]

That was... unexpected and strange, and though Luke felt he could appreciate where the sentiment was coming from, he also felt that the advice offered was non-applicable. He couldn't speak for Rosie, but he was fairly certain her feelings were similar to his: They couldn't just leave, not as long as they had the ability to fight. There were too many people in Kodo unable to do what they could; even if they were just two people, it was selfish to knowingly and willingly diminish the overall forces of Kodo's defense. Nonetheless, he nodded his understanding - because he did in fact understand, even if he wasn't sure he could agree.

And suddenly it looked like they were leaving, and it looked like they were leaving him and even his pokemon. In his flood of relief, he opened his mouth to speak but stopped before words could reach his voice. He couldn't be but so thankful, and he didn't feel that he owed any sort of debt. If they were just going to let him go in the end, after all, they could have done so hours ago. Yet still he felt grateful to have been treated by and large respectfully - save for that Kyle a*****e, but he'd even been defended from the man's violent tendencies. Somewhat reluctantly, he chose his words, "I appreciate it."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Jerome replied with another glance over, unsure of how he was supposed to take a reply like that, and was more expecting to walk away without the kid saying anything.

Looking away again Jerome watched as the others got into the vehicle that was now rumbling and ready to go.
pulling himself into the passenger side seat and closing the door. Before long the vehicle was moving away, and would be completely out of sight.  

[Suudonym]

Luke exhaled heavily into the silence the Rockets' departure created, taking a moment to actually relax and let the stress fade from his person. His posture straightened with a sudden memory, accompanied by a cry of realization, and then he frowned severely at the tracks in the snow. They'd taken his gear. So much for sympathy.

With a lighter sigh, he turned his attention to the bind on his wrists. In the time he'd been left to just lay on the ground with his own thoughts, he'd come to the conclusion that he was probably capable of breaking free; it hadn't seemed wise, though, to attempt it in the company of five Rockets and their pokemon. Even if he had managed to escape, he couldn't imagine it would have been for long. Now, however, he had all the time in the world, and he didn't intend to waste a second of it. He wanted to go home.

After struggling with the tie for nearly ten minutes, in increasing agitated as time wore on - it was just a piece of plastic, damn it! - Lorelei made an appearance a short distance away from Luke, and the trainer paused, breathless, to acknowledge it. "Hey. You okay?"

The psychic-type lowered its head and coiled its tail around itself bashfully.

"I think we should talk about this," Luke said, a slight severity to his tone. "This whole fighting thing, I mean. It's fine if it's not something you want to do, but I need to know that." He forced his hands against the back of his waist, hoping to stress the plastic until it gave way. He paused, "Not now, though. Once we're back home. First I have to deal with this stupid-- ah!" The tie snapped suddenly, leaving his hands free, and he gave a brief laugh in triumph as he rubbed at his wrists.

His full range of motion once again available to him, Luke decided it most prudent to check his injuries. As far as he knew, nothing was severely broken. The Absol's bite which he had blocked with his arm was probably his biggest concern, though there were also traces of blood on his fingertips left from touching the tender areas of his face. And his first aid kit was... first of all, probably inadequate for dealing with this sort of stuff well, but also confiscated with his other possessions - and that meant his compass as well.

No gear to call for help, no compass to find his way... If he could manage to track the sun, he could at least get an idea of east and west, but if he recalled correctly, they were calling for snow starting in the afternoon, so the cloud cover would probably make that impossible. Luke placed his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands. And Leste was gone too. This was going to be more complicated than he had thought.  

[Suudonym]

Eventually Luke had decided that he was best off just picking a direction and walking and hoping he wasn't going west. He wasn't sure if he'd been closer to Sandalwood or the tunnel through the mountain to Camphoreon when he had fallen, and he also couldn't account for whatever distance he'd been taken while he was unconscious. And so, for now, he simply walked, a Mew riding at his shoulder and a Flareon following at his heels - though it had taken a while to calm the fire-type when he had initially released it.

His first attempt at progress through the forest didn't get him very far. The further removed he was from the adrenaline and anxiety that had accompanied the experience, the more aware he was of the complaints of his body. His head throbbed, his wrists ached, his ribs protested every movement - he'd only been on his feet for half an hour before he felt that he wouldn't make it much further without a break. With his Flareon's help, he cleared out a little place to sit and rest, readily accepting Mieu's company when the fire-type offered to climb into his lap to share its warmth.

When was it, Luke idly wondered, that his philosophy about fighting had so drastically changed? He remembered abandoning the sword as a form of defense, using it exclusively for recreational purposes, after the man in warehouse had died upon it. He remembered never wanting to hurt anyone again. He remembered deciding to rely on his pokemon and focusing on training. He remembered attacking Izaya out of pure malice after being provoked by the Rocket. He remembered confronting the people who had taken Nicolette when she first arrived in Kodo. How many times had he thought that he should pick up the sword again or return to practicing firearms only to ultimately let go of the notion?

As he thought back to the fight against the Rocket who'd shot him from his Pidgeot, however, he found no sense of guilt or regret in how he had behaved towards his attacker. He wished he had had the sword to brandish as a threat, a gun to follow up if they found steel too medieval. He realized with a chill that he easily could have been killed in the time that he was unconscious - or at any other time, really, if any of them had been armed. Relying on the pokemon that most Rockets aimed to steal suddenly didn't seem very practical.

He didn't really want to think about all that anymore, though. Not now. For now, he just wanted to get back. With a word to Mieu to let the Flareon know they were going to start moving again, he struggled to his feet, heaved a sigh, and forged his way on through the snow.  

[Suudonym]

As the forecast had predicted, a light snowfall had developed by the afternoon - or he assumed it was the afternoon, at least, having no clock or even a clear sky by which to judge - and Luke had begun carrying Mieu to stave off the cold. He moved beside Tartarus now, allowing the large Aggron both to provide support and to clear his path as they moved. By this time, Luke was duly hungry, and the winter vegetation was sparse at best. He sated himself by consuming the snow - dehydration was no concern, at least - and pressed on unhappily. As hours ticked by and the scenery remained unchanged, Luke's worries were only amplifying. He hoped that Leste would come somehow; he wished he knew where it was that he had fallen so he could return there and hope the Pidgeot would appear.

He found that if he kept on for too long at any given time he would begin to feel dizzy, and so he made a point of stopping from time to time despite the discomfort caused by shifting positions. Tartarus stood over the damaged trainer like a sentinel, shielding him from the falling snow as much as he could while the Flareon took up a place in Luke's arms. He was tired. He wanted to go home. At this point he didn't even care if being home meant having to spend the rest of the day at work. He wanted to be someplace warm, he wanted something hot to eat, he wanted to be near Rosie. Surely this day had broken some kind of limit on how terrible a day could be. Surely he was owed something by now.

The time it took Luke to rise after resting gradually increased. When he finally managed to summon the will and strength, another set of footprints joined his as Lorelei, feeling partially responsible, took on Mieu's form to provide a secondary furnace.  

[Suudonym]

Daylight faded, and Luke had stopped speaking to his pokemon. He couldn't stand to ingest the snow anymore for how cold it was. He didn't even want to chance looking over his shoulder, dreading the sight of the only proof of his passage being completely consumed by the steadily intensifying winter precipitation. For some reason he had expected that he would have reached some city or landmark by the end of the day, but after hours of hiking he still had no earthly clue where he was relative to anything else. Though the majority of his wounds complained in a dull, throbbing ache with no clearly identifiable source, the injury to his arm burned as snow accumulated at the site; he was loathe to touch it to clear the frost away at the risk of aggravating it further.

Luke's progress paused, and so did that of the pokemon accompanying him. "Let's stop," he said to them, though he scarcely raised his voice to an audible level. Tartarus and Mieu regarded him quizzically, and he shook his head, moving only a little further before sinking to the ground at the base of a large tree. He fumbled with icy fingers to release Tenebrae and Rem. "Let's just stop." There was more to the sentiment than that - he was tired from the day's events, he was exhausted from walking, he was sore from all the fighting, he was veritably starving, and he just didn't see the point in going any further - but he didn't have enough energy to put the reasons to words.

Offering nothing further, the trainer placed his hands in his lap and closed his eyes, hardly caring how intelligent it was to embrace sleep in such an environment. The pokemon, assuming the other two had been released for defensive purposes, organized things amongst themselves: Lorelei wasn't a fighter, and so it was relegated to Luke's lap for the duration of the night. Mieu remained nearby to offer warmth as well, but he remained alert, his eyes on the darkness. Tenebrae watched the darkness as well, though with more efficiency than his companion, and Rem, cold and irritable, nuzzled herself down beside their trainer. Tartarus, with his great size, gave every effort to shield the group from the snow, but he was only capable of so much. They would have to rest in shifts, they decided. There had been no resistance during the day, but they couldn't be certain that the night would be as forgiving.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Luke's trail would not go unnoticed for very long, the footprints might have started fading by now, but the scent was still very much there.
It was growing dark when a small ragtag group of Growlith, far from home and searching for food found their way through the darkening forest, picking their way along the deep snow, the six little fire types tumbled along with one another in both curiosity and excitement as to what they were following.
Maybe it was something they could eat! Finding prey in the winter forest always proved very difficult.

One of the Growlith called out to his pack as the trail came to and end, and relived a group, much bigger then they anticipated in the distance.

Another asked, one with a nicked ear being the first to scoot up along his brother, bushy tail wagging as he peered through the darkness.

The third asked, nearly toppling the other two as he bound over

The larger, older of the pack hissed, joining the three that dug themselves out of the snow, another young male at his side, with brighter eyes then the generic brown of the pack.
His ears perked as he too stretched his neck to look across the darkened snowy path where a huddle of pokemon with a strange creature sat. He had never seen anything like that before.
In fact, no one in the pack knew what they were, they were reluctant to approach, but their desperation for food brought then curiously closer, keeping as quietly as they could to get a better look.



 

[Suudonym]

In the profound silence of the snowy night, the occasional rustling of a passing pokemon wasn't a terribly uncommon sound, though Tenebrae remained vigilant nonetheless just in case one such passing pokemon became a little too curious. The Umbreon felt that guarding was more his responsibility than anyone else's, not only because he was most capable of seeing through the nighttime darkness but also because Mieu was... not liable to act reasonably with the situation as it was. He tried very hard to get a handle on any potential threats before the Flareon became aware of them, and so he trained his eyes on the source of the faint sounds, alert. It appeared to be a group, though he couldn't be certain of their numbers. Judging from their size, he anticipated that they most likely wouldn't have great difficulty overpowering them if it came to fighting - though he certainly hoped it wouldn't come to fighting.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Curiosity mounted further as the strange group under the tree. No one seemed to move, so the pack assumed that they hadn't been seen yet.
Though they stopped at a distance, silently standing among one another in uncertainty if they should advance.

It was the young teal eyed Growlith that took a lead forward, ears pricked, paws sinking lightly into a snow.

a soft whine from one of the other growlith spoke, causing the pokemon to pause just for a moment before continuing, his boldness inspiring a couple of the others to join him, stalking forward in the snow and sniffing the air as they got closer.  

[Suudonym]

Ah, and they approached.

Tenebrae said reluctantly, attracting Mieu's attention immediately. The Flareon raised his ears tall to listen for a moment, then flattened them against his head with a low growl.

the Umbreon warned, He stood with a shiver and took a few long steps in the direction of the foreign pokemon, remaining alert. he said, calling out to the suspicious group.